Schools in Georgetown, Mass. Still Closed Over Roof Concerns

Published at 4:40 PM EDT on Mar 21, 2014

Receive the latest stories updates in your inbox

(NECN: Kenneth Craig) - In Georgetown, Massachusetts, crews have been working around the clock. They've got three schools and three roofs to clear, but the big problem is Perley Elementary School, which still has a gaping hole.

It's been that way since the roof gave way to heavy snow Thursday.

"Very dramatic sight to see a hole that large in a school roof and see the way that the construction is absolutely collapsed under the weight of the snow," said Massachusetts state senator Bruce Tarr of Gloucester.

On Sunday, he got a birds-eye view of the damage as school leaders and emergency professionals met to figure out what to do next.

"It's been a wild week, it's been a wild week," said Carol Jacobs. "We're just so relieved that the situation didn't result in anyone being hurt."

It's a problem they're not facing alone. In just the last week, more than 100 roofs across the Bay State suffered some kind of collapse because of snow, and officials say the worst may not be over.

"This is clearly not the only community that is dealing with these kind of issues," said Tarr. "It's a problem across the state and I think we're going to need to roll up our sleeves and see if we can identify resources or any way we can help cities and towns with this."

In Georgetown, the superintendent says it could be weeks or even months before the roof is completely repaired and estimates the damage near $75,000.

Meanwhile, crews will continue to sweep all the school roofs in town, hoping the get the job done and kids back in the classroom as soon as possible.

"I think in any situation it's important to move forward and insure that it never happens again," said Jacobs.